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ETHICS CODE SEER AS ELECTIC ISSUE

The Legislature's overwhelm­ing rejection of the Laporte I committee's proposals for a strong code of ethics was well on the way yesterday to becom­ing a November election issue crossing party lines.

Governor Rockefeller, who had demanded from the Legis­lature a strong code of con­duct for its members and em­ployes, decline to comment on the watered‐down version that was adopted on Monday.

A spokesman in Albany also said yesterday that the Gover­nor had nothing to say “at this time” about the request from the Citizens Ethics Commit­tee that he veto the measure and call a special session to adopt a “real” code.

With every one of the 150 Assembly and 58 State Senate seats to be contested this year, prospective opponents of the in­cumbents who helped scuttle the Laporte committee's recommen­dations were preparing to use the rejection as a campaign issue.

The Citizens Ethics Commit­tee is supporting that effort. Roy M. Goodman, chairman, has said the group would make in­formation available to the vot­ers in the home districts of all legislators who opposed the La­porte panel's code.

The feeling in political cir­cles was that the Governor would sign the watered­down measure within the next 30 days and issue a statement calling it a step in the right di­rection and expressing hope that a bigger step would be taken next year.

Mr. Rockefeller is under some pressure to veto the measure with a bold declaration that it is too weak. But his advisers believe that he must show some accomplishment in the way of a code of ethics, no matter how weak, lest his national image suffer as that of a Governor ig­nored by the legislative lead­ers of his own party.

I. D. Robbins, president of the City Club, said that 15 State Senators, three from this city, could be defeated for re‐election as a result of their vote for the watered‐down code.

Mr. Robbins declined to name the legislators he con­sidered in jeopardy, but he said: “At least 15 Senate seats are on the line, and the abili­ity of the incumbents to get re‐elected is tied up with the question of the code of ethics.”

He said the voters “are go­ing to ask what motivated the Senators and Assemblymen who didn’t want a good code.” He predicted that the campaign would “bring to light secret business ventures of several leg­islators, which would be banned under the code proposed by the Laporte Committee.”

Rejection Called Outrage

Cloyd Laporte, chairman of the New York City Board of Ethics, was appointed last De‐cember by the Republican legis­lative leaders to head a special committee to make recom­mendations for a new code of ethics for members and em­ployes of the Legislature.

Mr. Robbins called the Legis­lature's rejection of most of the committee's proposals “an out­rage” and said the Governor should veto the measure that was adopted.

The Assembly, before pas‐ing the watered‐down bill by a vote of 142 to 4, had buried the Laporte measure by re­committing it to committee. Mr. Goodman sent a telegram yes­terday to the 10 Republican and 15 Democratic Assemblymen who had voted against recom­mitting the Laporte bill.

“Your vote against re­committing the Laporte ethics legislation indicates your inter­est in a stronger code of ethics,” the telegram said. “I respect­fully request that you join with the Citizens Ethics Committee in calling upon Governor Rocke­feller immediately to veto the ethics evasion bill and to form a nonpartisan conscience coali­tion in the State Legislature to press for effective ethics legis­lation encompassing all points of the Laporte committee's rec­ommendations.”

Prof. Gray Thoron of Cor­nell University Law School added his request to others for a gubernatorial veto. A member of the Laporte com­mittee, he said Mr, Rockefeller's veto would “keep the issue alive,” The measure adopted by the Legislature “just really doesn't do anything,” he de­clared.